Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

In April I finally broiled something correctly, so I took a picture and posted it on Facebook.  The dish happened to be Real Simple's Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells recipe, and I guess it looked good because some of my friend's wanted the recipe.  I add prosciutto to mine because I am such the meatatarian, but this is supposed to be a vegetarian dish.  Of course this means I always have way too much stuffing leftover, but I just make a bigger dish and have more cheesy-prosciutto goodness.

My only caution to anyone making this is to be careful with the broiler.  Usually I am so scared to burn things I don't get the nice browning effect, but this time I just kept watching through the oven door.  Plus, this oven can broil on different temperatures (I don't think all ovens do this, but I'm not sure), so I had it on a lower temperature.
 

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells
adapted from Real Simple 

20 jumbo pasta shells 
1 24-ounce jar marinara sauce
2 15-ounce containers ricotta
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 cup grated mozzarella
4 ounces prosciutto (optional)

• Set an oven rack to the highest position and heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cook the pasta according to the package, drain and run under cold water.
• Spread the marinara sauce in the bottom of a large broilerproof baking dish.
• In a bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (and prosciutto if you're going my route).  Spoon the mixture into the shells and place them on top of the sauce.  Sprinkle with the mozzarella and bake until the shells are heated through, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Increase the heat to broil.  Broil the shells until the cheese begins to brown, 2 to 5 minutes.  

Happy Birthday M-O-M

It's my mom's birthday today. Happy birthday to her!

Ribollita

This week it's all about soup, because I haven't been feeling all that great. The second soup of the week was Giada's Ribollita. Yum.

Seth also enjoyed it. So much that he suggested that I lose my Minestrone recipe and only make Ribollita. He actually didn't know about Ribollita, and neither did I, so I Googled. It turns out that it's a Tuscan soup traditionally made of leftovers and stale bread.

Ribollita is an easy soup to make, and the pancetta adds a flavor that's quite nice. If you like Minestrone, try this soup!

Ribollita
by Giada De Laurentiis

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus some for the bread
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped*
4 oz. pancetta, chopped
2 cloves garlic, 1 minced and 1 whole
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 T tomato pste
1-15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1-pound frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1-15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained
1 T Herbs de Provence
3 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 Parmesan rind
4 to 6 ciabatta rolls, halved lengthwise or 1 loaf, sliced
Grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, pancetta, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is golden brown and the pancetta is crisp, about 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir until dissolved. Add tomatoes and stir, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the spinach, beans, herbs, stock, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Drizzle the ciabatta halves with olive oil. Toast until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and rub the top of the toasts with the whole garlic clove. Place the toasts in the serving bowls and ladle the soup over the toasts.* Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve immediately.

*Carrots: I used two, instead of one.

*Toasts: I neglected to toast the ciabatta and use it at the bottom of the soup bowl. Even without the toast, we very much enjoyed the soup, but next time we will be trying this with toast or some stale bread.